Your favorite course within 50 miles of your home

[Dan Kelly]

Pebble Beach
Cypress  Point
MPCC Dunes and Shore

In no particular order.

All less than fourteen miles.

Bob

Bob,

No need to rub it in....

Dan

[Wade Whitehead]

Course: Ballyhack Golf Club
Distance: ~7 miles from my front porch
Architect: Lester George
Classic or modern: Modern
Why?: Unbelievable elasticity, incredible site, big and bouncy golf, diagonals, stellar vibe and staff

It's not just my favorite within 50 miles, either...

WW

[Dan Herrmann]

Course:  Merion East
Distance: 17 miles
Architect: Hugh Wilson
Classic
Why?  It's friggin Merion!

[Jim Tang]

Course: Black Sheep.
Distance:  4 miles
Architect:  David Esler
Classic or Modern:  Modern
Why:  Great prairie course with exceptional width, allowing for various lines off tees and angles of play into greens.

[Bill Gayne]

Golden Horseshoe Gold Course

[Mark Johnson]

lots of great options, but I would pick Somerset, a classic Raynor design just outside of St. Paul in Minnesota.

Honorable Mention

1. Windsong Farm
2. Interlachen
3. White Bear Lake

[Tom Fagerli]

Old Town Club
Maxwell with Coore updates
Some funky (good funky) holes, great par threes, beautiful setting,

[Thomas Dai]

This one -


photo as per Seans 2011 photo tour - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48765.0.html

atb

[Michael George]

Depending on the day:

Brookside CC - Mr. Becker is correct - best set of greens in Ohio.   In fact, I think it is the best Ross course in Ohio, period.
Country Club (Pepper Pike) - one of the best routings that you will ever play - just a wonderful walk in the park.  17th hole is THE best hole in Ohio.

They may be my favorite 2 courses in Ohio.  They are that good. 

[Jason Walker]

1. Pine Valley GC--8.9 miles

2. Tavistock CC--.5 miles (home club, still a close second favorite course...I'm a homer)

[Jason Topp]

My real favorite at the moment is my home course, because I've played it often enough to know it pretty well. Seems to me that frequency of play is an essential part of becoming a "favorite" golf course.

I agree.  Oak Ridge is still my favorite.  I especially miss it now that the ground is wet and the wind is strong, which means I am hitting lumber or long irons into a most of the holes at Windsong.  The experience makes me feel old.   

[Dan Kelly]

My real favorite at the moment is my home course, because I've played it often enough to know it pretty well. Seems to me that frequency of play is an essential part of becoming a "favorite" golf course.

I agree.  Oak Ridge is still my favorite.  I especially miss it now that the ground is wet and the wind is strong, which means I am hitting lumber or long irons into a most of the holes at Windsong.  The experience makes me feel old.   

Get used to it! It beats the hell out of the alternative.

[Dave McCollum]

We drive 50 miles for groceries out West.  I’m a homer, Canyon Springs.  A close second is Blue Lakes CC next door in the same spectacular Snake River Canyon.  Both are sand based on undulating terrain, but very different in culture and conditioning.  CS is public and not as quirky as the private BLCC.  Both are short and affordable.  I live and work at CS, so not much objectivity.  Come on down.  Twin Falls, Idaho.  I guess both are modern, but since both evolved as affordable courses, over 40 to 50 years, there's some quirky features.  

[Howard Riefs]

Course: Shoreacres
Architect: Seth Raynor
Classic or modern: Classic
Why?: Brilliant use of ravines.  Also it's too short to host any serious tournaments so they haven't cocked it up and as a result it's a ton of fun for the average hitting mid handicapper.

+1

[Andrew Buck]

Course: CC of Peoria (IL)
Architect: FM Birks (1897)
Classic or modern: Classic
Why?: Great use of a smaller property that doesn't feel crammed and has excellent views and vistas.  2 good risk reward drivable par 4's (4 if you can carry it 320), but small greens and good flow.  Also, a fair amount of nostalgia from playing regularly in college
Distance:  49 miles, as the crow flies.


I live in an area without many great courses.  I would guess Rich Harvest is the highest ranked within the 50 miles (46 miles in the other direction) however I wouldn't have it on my top 3 - 4.  The only course I can think of in that radius (at 49 miles from my house) that I suspect would unseat it is Black Sheep. 

[Rees Milikin]

Victoria Hills, but it would be Deltona Club if the conditioning was at least on par with Victoria Hills.  

Mountain Lake is a mile outside of 50, but from the pictures posted on here, it would be #1.

[Charlie Gallagher]

Bald Peak Colony Club
27 miles (aprox)
Why: Fine Donald Ross in a magnificent setting, strong set of par 3's. The course has greatly benefited from a heavy top dressing program that has restored drainage and bounce to the fairways. 2 strategic, driveable par 4's. In late September or early October there is not a more advantageous setting for observing the beauty of New England foliage.

[Stephen Davis]

We drive 50 miles for groceries out West.  I’m a homer, Canyon Springs.  A close second is Blue Lakes CC next door in the same spectacular Snake River Canyon.  Both are sand based on undulating terrain, but very different in culture and conditioning.  CS is public and not as quirky as the private BLCC.  Both are short and affordable.  I live and work at CS, so not much objectivity.  Come on down.  Twin Falls, Idaho.  I guess both are modern, but since both evolved as affordable courses, over 40 to 50 years, there's some quirky features.  

I have played Blue Lakes. What a wild course, but my favorite part might just be the drive down the canyon to get there.

[Terry Lavin]

Course: CC of Peoria (IL)
Architect: FM Birks (1897)
Classic or modern: Classic
Why?: Great use of a smaller property that doesn't feel crammed and has excellent views and vistas.  2 good risk reward drivable par 4's (4 if you can carry it 320), but small greens and good flow.  Also, a fair amount of nostalgia from playing regularly in college
Distance:  49 miles, as the crow flies.


I live in an area without many great courses.  I would guess Rich Harvest is the highest ranked within the 50 miles (46 miles in the other direction) however I wouldn't have it on my top 3 - 4.  The only course I can think of in that radius (at 49 miles from my house) that I suspect would unseat it is Black Sheep. 

I played Peoria about ten years ago.  It was in good shape and a little quirky in a nice way, but as I recall, it had a real tree issue.  Have they thinned the herd?  As for Rich Harvest, they have a very nice car collection...

Black Sheep is great and a little birdie tells me that there is going to be a gca play day there this July...

[Andrew Buck]

Course: CC of Peoria (IL)
Architect: FM Birks (1897)
Classic or modern: Classic
Why?: Great use of a smaller property that doesn't feel crammed and has excellent views and vistas.  2 good risk reward drivable par 4's (4 if you can carry it 320), but small greens and good flow.  Also, a fair amount of nostalgia from playing regularly in college
Distance:  49 miles, as the crow flies.


I live in an area without many great courses.  I would guess Rich Harvest is the highest ranked within the 50 miles (46 miles in the other direction) however I wouldn't have it on my top 3 - 4.  The only course I can think of in that radius (at 49 miles from my house) that I suspect would unseat it is Black Sheep.  

I played Peoria about ten years ago.  It was in good shape and a little quirky in a nice way, but as I recall, it had a real tree issue.  Have they thinned the herd?  As for Rich Harvest, they have a very nice car collection...

Black Sheep is great and a little birdie tells me that there is going to be a gca play day there this July...

Judge,  

They have taken out about 350 trees and renovated all green complexes.  It is much better than it was in the mid 90's when I played there regularly.

[Greg Tallman]

Within 50 miles of the town I grew up in (Parkersburg, WV) that is a tough one. I will have to think a bit.

Within 50 miles of where I live today (Cabo) not so tough - Cabo del Sol (Ocean) though there is a not too distant second. 

[Dave McCollum]

Steve—

Yes it is.  A bit too much of a ball eater for my tastes.  If you ever get back to this neck of the woods, give me a shout.  I’ll show you around the blue collar version of Canyon golf.  Our version of the grade down (South side of the river) at least has two lanes and aerial view of the golf, so you can take a glance at it without puckering up and worrying about plunging to the rocks far below.  We’ll probaly be a lot more shaggy, firm, and fast.  We don’t believe so much in fertilizer and lush green everything.  And we are walkable.  I know some guys that walk BLCC.  Same guys run marathons and go winter camping in the mountains.

[Stephen Davis]

Steve—

Yes it is.  A bit too much of a ball eater for my tastes.  If you ever get back to this neck of the woods, give me a shout.  I’ll show you around the blue collar version of Canyon golf.  Our version of the grade down (South side of the river) at least has two lanes and aerial view of the golf, so you can take a glance at it without puckering up and worrying about plunging to the rocks far below.  We’ll probaly be a lot more shaggy, firm, and fast.  We don’t believe so much in fertilizer and lush green everything.  And we are walkable.  I know some guys that walk BLCC.  Same guys run marathons and go winter camping in the mountains.

Will do for sure! I made the mistake of walking BLCC when I played it. The 2 mile walk between 8 and 9 and then the uphill 5 hike between 12 and 13 almost did me in. I was pretty much done after that Your course across the way looked quite nice and definitely more firm than BL. I think my ball was permanently dyed green after that round.

[Nigel Islam]

For me the default would have to be Victoria National, but my favorite course lies just outside of that: French Lick Ross (Hill). Always a fun round.

[Rick Shefchik]

My real favorite at the moment is my home course, because I've played it often enough to know it pretty well. Seems to me that frequency of play is an essential part of becoming a "favorite" golf course.

I agree.  Oak Ridge is still my favorite.  I especially miss it now that the ground is wet and the wind is strong, which means I am hitting lumber or long irons into a most of the holes at Windsong.  The experience makes me feel old.  

Get used to it! It beats the hell out of the alternative.

Tee it forward!